Top Tunes Thursday: Big Grams — Self Titled

October 1, 2015

I’d like to see the “to do list” for this record. It must read something like: “1. Make awesome music. 2. See #1.” Yes, it’s simple, but it’s simply fun. If Big Grams set out to make music to dance/copulate to, I think they hit the nail on the head. Phantogram released their most recent record last year, and the last time OutKast put out new music, I was a Junior in highschool. (Wow, I’m old.) While there doesn’t appear to be any tour dates in Big Grams’ future, I guess you’ll just have to settle for playing this record on repeat.

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Top Tunes Thursday: Little Simz — A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons

September 24, 2015

Imagine you know someone who wants to be a world renowned rapper. Regardless of talent or ability, how many challenges lay ahead of this person? Find/compose beats, write verses, record said verses, produce record/mixtape/single, and somehow get that content out to the people, whether that be through radio, concerts, or some manner of digital dispersion. Now imagine this person is a woman, and lives in the UK, a locale as synonymous with hip hop as it is with hardcore death metal (which is to say, not very). This is the monumental task Simbi Ajikawo set for herself at the tender age of 9. After dabbling in the movement and screen disciplines, Ajikawo dedicated herself to rap, donning the moniker Little Simz. 4 mixtapes, 6 EPs, and 1 independently created record label later, Simz has garnered adoration from ravenous listeners around the globe, including some of rap’s biggest names, including J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay-Z.

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#NoMessNoStress

September 22, 2015

50¢ Boneless Wings All Day Every Tuesday… because sometimes life calls for clean fingers. Open until midnight in Greeley. www.WingShackWings.com

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Top Tunes Thursday: Beirut — No No No

September 17, 2015

When I find a new artist (whether it be a new single, a new album, or by recommendation) if I can, I like to start at the beginning of their discography. If I’m really going to get a feel for the art being created, I think an important part of that is knowing where they started from. This holds particularly true for this week’s subject of TTT, Albuquerque bred pop outfit, Beirut. Though their name might betray their more worldly senses, there’s not much you can do to prepare yourself for the jangling gypsy chorus this is Beirut’s debut record, Gulag Orkestar. The record does enough to make you scratch your head, and becomes even more confounding when you find out it was recorded almost completely by Beirut frontman and founder, Zach Condon.

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Time Travel, Trends, and Self-Publishing With Greeley’s Connie Willis

September 15, 2015

Willis is an award-winning, Greeley-based science fiction author responsible for 1992’s Doomsday Book. She grew up with “girls’ books” such as Little Women and Anne of Green Gables, but eventually discovered the work of sci-fi author Robert Heinlein and fell in love with science fiction. Soon, she had devoured all the science fiction she could find at her library, including The Year’s Best Short Story Collections.

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Top Tunes Thursday: Travis $cott — Rodeo

September 10, 2015

When your first public appearance has you labeled as a protege of Kanye West, it’s safe to say you travel with heavy expectations on your shoulders. When Travi$ Scott was revealed as one of the top producer’s behind West’s blistering thrash-rap opus, Yeezus, the countdown to his solo album began. While his debut EP Owl Pharaoh failed to impress, his follow-up Days Before Rodeo did much to increase the appetites of Scott’s swelling fanbase. Now, two plus years after the source of his fame, Travi$ Scott has released his highly anticipated solo record, Rodeo. Without giving too much away, it lives up to the name.

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